Question

1. a marketing company wants to find the favorite breakfast cereal of teenagers. which sampling method would have the most bias?

a. select 50 teenagers at random from the whole city.
b. select 50 teenagers who are shopping at a specific grocery store.
c. select 50 teenagers by drawing names from all middle school rosters.
d. select 50 teenagers from a diverse set of after - school clubs.

Explanation:

To determine the most biased sampling method, we analyze each option:

• Option a: Random selection from the whole city is a relatively unbiased, representative sample.
• Option b: Selecting teenagers at a specific grocery store introduces bias because teenagers at that store may have similar cereal - buying preferences (e.g., the store might stock certain cereals, attracting teens with specific tastes), and not all teenagers shop at that store.
• Option c: Drawing from all middle school rosters is a fairly representative way to sample teenagers.
• Option d: Selecting from a diverse set of after - school clubs also gives a relatively representative sample of teenagers.

So, the sampling method in option b has the most bias as it restricts the sample to a specific location (grocery store) with potentially non - representative teenagers.

Answer:

b. Select 50 teenagers who are shopping at a specific grocery store.